Merpeople
Merpeople are human/fish-hybrids. The legends of this creatures go back more than three thousand years. They are magical creatures of the seas, and the basis for the hit television shows H2O: Just Add Water and Mako Mermaids. Physiology All merpeople share the same basic traits. Ten seconds after mermaids touch water, they get a long golden-orange tail and a matching top. Their tails are covered in scales and end in a classic dolphin-shaped fluke. They also have a short dorsal fin running along the backs of their tails, from their waists to a little more than halfway down the tail. When merman come into contact with water, they also get a tail after ten seconds. Mermen have an ocean-blue tail that ends in a pointy-shaped fluke. They also have a short dorsal fin running along the backs of their tails, from their waists to a little more than halfway down the tail. The tails from mermaids and merman are also very strong. This is shown when Emma saves Zane Bennett by smashing in the steel door on Miss Chatham's boat, or when Nixie brakes the icy surface of the pool in Rita's Grotto. When merpeople are in human form and get a tail, their clothes vanish. Their clothes will only return when they become human again. Their hair keeps its natural color and length, but any hair-ties, headbands, hair clips or hairspray will disappear, along with their clothes. When they're dry, their hair returns to whatever style it was in. Merpeople in human form also get a tail if they touch snow or ice. But southern merpeople never interact with snow or ice because they will also develop snow rash and become feverish. The only way to cure them is by sprinkling dried seahorse powder onto their skin. It is still unknown how merpeople are born, and how they reproduce. Merman left mermaids for more than a thousand years ago. The only thing known about merman where they went after the war, is that they went living on land. Psychology Both genders are seen as the same creature, but mermaids and merman have different behaviors and a different color of the tails. Originally, both genders lived in groups or pods. But after the great war, merman no longer live in pods. Instead, they were brought up on land and raised on land, probably to hide from the mermaids after losing the war. This also explains why mermaids haven't seen merman for a while. Merman are seen as the enemy of mermaids, and merman would do anything to obtain power. Zac doesn't really have this typical merman behavior, but this chances when he falls into the moon pool, and becomes a merman. Every full moon, he gets obsessed by getting the trident, and when he finally sees and touches the trident for the first time, he snaps out of the moon spell. But when Zac turns around with the trident in his hands, he discovers that Nixie, Lyla and Sirena also have a tail. And Zac sees the girls as his enemy when Lyla tries to take the trident from him. He believes that he's supposed to have the trident, and control the power within it, but he also thinks that Nixie, Lyla and Sirena want the power within the trident. He feels betrayed by the three girls. Later, the mermaids try many unsuccessful attempts to take the trident from Zac. Zac wants to keep the trident in his hands, so he even goes so far that he tries to take over Mako from the mermaids after he believes that he saw reinforcements to attack him and take the trident. Zac is unaware that he's recreating the war between mermaids and mermen, and almost succeeds. Mermaids are determined to learn more about their powers and to master them for good things, instead of getting more powers to gain more might. They even have Mermaid School. In this school, they learn how to control their powers when they're very young, and use them wisely to protect the ocean, the sea creatures, Mako island, and the moon pool. They live in pods, and are never alone. They also aren't really solitary as merman are. But Lyla is an exception. She isn't that much with the others, and more likes it to work alone. But even if mermaids weren't in a pod, they would always bring someone else, and travel in a small group, a group of two or three mermaids. When natural mermaids first gets legs, they would have difficulties with walking, but they get used to it after some time. On their birthdays, mermaids give gifts away rather than receive them. Pods As revealed in Mako Mermaids, there are Pods of natural born mermaids all around the world. The Mako Island pod has more than a hundred members. When the moon is full, the natural mermaids all around the world honor the moon with a ceremony. Natural mermaids, unlikely land people who fell into the pool, live on a seafood diet and wear seashells such as jewelry. The mermaid council made laws with Veridia. She is the head of the council in the Mako Island Pod. According to Mimmi, the northern pod knows the best spells and potions. Some of these rules are: *It is forbidden to sing the Enchantment Song.(Lyla forced Sirena to sing this song) *It is forbidden to associate with land people and it is especially not allowed to use a Moon Ring to go on land. (All of the main mermaids have) *It's forbidden for mermaids to show themselves to land people when they are in mermaid form (Sirena did this to David and Mimmi did this to Chris) *It is forbidden to let land people come onto Mako Island during a full moon, and it is even more forbidden to let them into the moon pool. (Sirena, Lyla and Nixie have) *It is forbidden to fall in love with a land person. (Sirena, Rita Santos, and Mimmi have) *It is forbidden to travel too close to land. (All of the main mermaids have) *It is forbidden to reveal your powers to humans. (Weilan did) *It is forbidden for natural mermaids to walk (in human form) on Mako Island during a full moon. However, after Zac saves all mermaids from being destroyed by the merman chamber in "The Chosen One", Veridia begins to show some respect to Zac and land people, as she now sees that it is possible for merman and mermaids to live peacefully together, and that some land people can been trusted. Sirena, Lyla and Nixie broke the rule of not letting land people onto the Island and were later blamed when the pod found out that Zac fell into the Moon Pool instead. They were supposed to guard it. Aquata comes to ask what happened, and tells it to the council. Later that day, Aquata returns, and when Sirena, Nixie and Lyla come swimming into the moon pool, Aquata tells them that they are cast out of the pod and that the pod must leave Mako. Later in Season 1, they broke the rules of singing the Enchantment Song and using a moon ring to go on land. Mermaids of pods use the full moon as a source of magic and power. They created moon rings out of blue moonstones and use them to accomplish many feats. The rings can almost do everything, they can heal, but also cause destruction. Young mermaids in the pod must go through training to prove themselves that they are worthy enough for a moon ring, and use them to accomplish many feats. Mermen are dumped by their parent(s), because mermaids believe that merman are dangerous. Rita Santos is a teacher on land, at Suncoast High, but possibly could have been a mermaid teacher when she lived in the pod. She helps Lyla, Sirena and Nixie complete their training, and gave them their own moon rings. The Mako Island Pod fled Mako in, "Outcasts" and joined another pod in the South Pacific. Once Mako Island was safe again, they returned in "The Chosen One". In the "Legend of Jiao Long" Rikki Chadwick returns as a famous, professional diver who searches for ancient artifacts in the deeps of the ocean. In the first episode of the new season, a dragon will appear. This dragon is meant to destroy all mermaids. Mimmi, Ondina, Weilan, Zac and Rita discover that Nerissa, Zac and Mimmi's real mother, could be under the spell of the dragon, and they find out that they need a special bracelet to break the spell. But Rikki has gotten this bracelet, and she's not going to give this bracelet to the mermaids. Ondina, Mimmi and Weilan try several things to get the bracelet, but with no success. Weilan and Ondina return one more time to the building where Rikki was, but she isn't there. They find Rikki in the moon pool, and convince Rikki to give them the bracelet. Rikki says where the bracelet is, and Weilan and Ondina give the bracelet to Mimmi. In the last episode of the new season of Mako Mermaids, Mimmi breaks the spell, and frees Nerissa. Natural Merpeople Abilities *'Underwater Breathing' - Merpeople can stay underwater for long periods, but they still need to breathe air. Merpeople can hold their breath for at least 12 hours before they need to breathe. But with more practice, merpeople can stay under for much longer. When mermaids remain breathless, they do not die. They "sleep" underwater, and just awaken when they breathe air again. *'Speed Swimming' - In water, merpeople also have the additional ability of Speed-Swimming. When a merperson speed-swims, their body is enveloped in bubbles that they use as a jet stream to swim quickly. This can be a great advantage when trying to flee from enemies such as another mermaid/merman or boats and other water crafts. We sometimes also call it "torpedoing." *'Zoolingualism' - Natural-born merpeople have the unique ability to understand and speak the language of sea creatures. It is unknown if the ability can be learned. Nixie, Sirena and Rita are known for demonstrating this ability with dolphins, while Mimmi has done it with whales as well as dolphins. Moon Pool The Moon Pool is a special pool with the power to turn regular people in merpeople when the Full Moon passes over. The Moon Pool are known to have turned Cleo Sertori, Emma Gilbert, Rikki Chadwick, Isabella Hartley, Gracie Watsford, Louise Chatham, Julia Dove, Eva, Charlotte Watsford, and Evie McLaren into mermaids, and broke a spell on Zac Blakely that made him tailless. There's a second moon pool in Ireland that is possibly in possession of the Northern Pod. On special occasion, the Moon Pool will react to the Full Moon magically and unleash special effects, such as taking away a merperson's powers temporarily or forever, or enhancing a merperson's powers. Weaknesses *'Snow Rash' - Southern merpeople never enters in contact with snow. If they do end up going into contact with it, it will make them develop Snow Rash, a strange rash caused by the pysical contact with snow, and it seems to be very fatal to Southern merpeople. It is accompanied by several negative symptoms and it interferes with their powers and prevents them from using Hydro-Thermokinesis and Pyrokinesis to warm themselves. A merperson who tries to use these powers will only generate cold and lower the temperature. It is not known whether a human-turnerd-merperson develops these effects. Northern merpeople born and raised in icy waters are immune to Snow Rash and may develop some immunity to the cold too. Western and Eastern merpeople are immune to Snow Rash too. The only way to cure this allergy is a Dried Seahorse Powder that Rita contains stored within a silver seahorse. To heal, the dust must be sprinkled on the affected part of the skin, and it will immediately disappear. *'Fish Fever' - A strange, rainbow-colored coral contains a poison that affects merpeople. It causes them to be overexcited, but the more the poison digs into their system, the more ravenous they get. The poison also causes a tremendous effect in a merperson's physical form. For Emma, her copper-golden-orange scales turned white and scales even appeared on the skin, her hands became webbed, her nails turned black and later into claws, her skin became more monstrous, on her neck were growing a set of gills, her hair started to turn green, her eyes turned yellow, and she made monster-like noises. She also developed a out of control hunger. Emma was later cured when Lewis sprayed an antidote on her, which was developed by Laurie. *'Ambergris' - Is an old substance that some day, it was used to make beauty products such as ladies perfume. It comes from the intestines of a whale and it can be used to attract mermaids. In "Irresistible", Zane Bennett finds some old ambergris which Nate later tries on. The smell from the ambergris makes him stink but it also makes him literally irresistible to Cleo, Emma and Rikki. Ambergris was also one of the ingredients used in Mimmi's potion of fifty moons to remove Zac's powers. *'Allergic Reaction' - Mermaids seem to have an allergic reaction to a certain substance of aftershave, which cause their powers to blow uncontrollably when they sneeze. *'Sickness' - Merpeople don't get sick, unlike humans. However, they can be infected if they come across a sick land dweller and can spread it to other merpeople as well. The symptoms involve oozing heat from out of their bodies and breathe fire whenever they sneeze. Rita Santos invented a remedy for such situations after coming across such cases for several times. Mimmi was inexperienced with such situations, but she tried to make a heal potion, but it only worked temporarily, they took the potion, but the illness came back, but in a different form. They all had to sneeze ice and snow, and they were feeling cold. After one of the mermaids sneezes, it starts snowing, and all mermaids, including Zac, get their tails. Carly sees them, and Evie tells her that Carly should know something. Evie touches the snow, and transforms too. From this moment, Carly knows all about merpeople. *'Water Deprivation' - Though magically assuming a human form extends their time on land, merpeople cannot stay on land forever and they can die of water deprivation. It is unknown if a human transformed by a Moon Pool would also have this effect as well. Merpeople Magic Merpeople have a natural gift for spell making using ingredients found in nature. Lewis McCartney found a book, "Mermaid Mythology" that held a recipe for a Mermaid's Potion that could give mermaids the power to grant wishes. Trivia * Natural-born merpeople do not have a human form, although they have the ability to give themselves one. But that magic isn't possible without a powerful source of moonlight. So this can only be done with a Moon Ring or with the full moonlight itself. At first time, they will have difficulty of getting used to walking. * It was revealed in Dolphin Tale that natural-born merpeople can speak the languages of sea creatures, as Sirena and Nixie can speak dolphin and Mimmi can speak humpback whale. * It is possible that only natural merpeople can make themselves invisible. * Merman, or at least Erik, have something like a sixth sense to find pearls in the ocean. * Merpeople, including natural ones, are said to have a hard time controlling the power of the full moon when they haven't been properly trained. For this reason, they need to learn to concentrate on letting the moon's magic flow through their bodies rather than resist it. After this, they can wander out in the moonlight. * Merpeople can feel when the full moon is up. * Moonstrucked merpeople can't remember what happend while they where moonstruck. * Natural merpeople seems to have an extreme phobia of cats when they first encounter one. Known Merpeople ;Transformed *Cleo Sertori *Emma Gilbert *Rikki Chadwick *Isabella Hartley *Gracie Watsford † (temporarily) *Louise Chatham *Julia Dove † *Charlotte Watsford (temporarily) *Evie McLaren (temporarily) *Eva † ;Natural *Zac Blakely *Sirena *Nixie *Lyla *Rita Santos *Aquata *Maya *Erik *Ondina *Mimmi *Neptina *Nerissa *Veridia *Weilan *Ava *Amaris *Jewel *Naia Note: † = Deceased. See also Characters Mermaid Powers Category:Mermaids Category:Mermen Category:Mako Mermaids Category:Powers